New rule a punishing blow for Brookfield

Team disqualified from playoffs after third checking violation

The Brookfield boys hockey team went from reaching the state semifinals for the first time last year to the first area team this season disqualified from the playoffs because of a new rule.

The Brookfield team, which added Catholic Memorial this year, will not play the Sussex Hamilton/Germantown co-op in the first round of the playoffs Tuesday because it was called for three checking-from-behind penalties this season.

The WIAA adopted a new rule this year that declared a team ineligible for the playoffs if it was called for three of them in a season.

Brookfield/Memorial got its third Friday in the next to last game of the regular season.

"I truly believe (checking from behind) is a dangerous thing and I'm not belittling it at all," Brookfield/Memorial coach Steve Chapin said. "But there's nothing in place in football if a kid leads with his helmet. You get a 15-yard penalty. If you get three of those a year, is a team ineligible for the playoffs? No. You can't tell me that's any less dangerous than checking from behind.

"I don't want to come across as a whiner, because I'm not. I know the rule is important. But something's got to be done, like to go to the Minnesota rule."

Actually, this rule came about because Minnesota high school player Jack Jablonski was paralyzed from a check from behind last season. But in that state, the player - not the team - is suspended if he's called for three of them.

"I don't understand the idea of the team penalty. Makes no sense," Chapin said. "There are 19 other guys on the roster that didn't have a thing to do with that play."

WIAA assistant director Tom Shafranski said five Wisconsin teams already had been disqualified before Brookfield reached its limit.

"Folks in hockey may not like it, appreciate it, but we're not going to apologize for providing as safe as an environment as we can provide," Shafransi said.

Several teams had "two strikes," including University School, but the penalties do not carry over to the playoffs. Players, however, will be suspended for any such violation.

"No kid wanted to be the one to get the third," University School coach Cal Roadhouse said. "And a lot of refs didn't want to be the one responsible for putting a team out of the playoffs."

Punishing a team instead of a player and putting the onus on the officials were two of the bigger outcries from coaches statewide.

"I think refs have been afraid to call it since they don't want to be responsible for having teams miss the tourney," said Whitefish Bay/Nicolet/Shorewood coach Maco Balkovec. "And I get that, but we need to call the game tighter and crack down on this old-school mentality of 'that's just hockey.' No, it's not. Not anymore. If it's your kid lying there on the ice after one of these hits, what would be going through your mind? 'That's just hockey' or 'Why is that allowed?' "

Brad Karrels, a member of the Grafton co-op team, was one of those kids lying on the ice. In November, he was checked headfirst into the boards and broke both wrists to go with a compound fracture.

Fortunately for the Port Washington junior, he put his arms up to help cushion the blow. He returned to the ice about a week ago.

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